It’s a new day!

Well, maybe not. I just woke up, is all.

Fir is off working hard (probably) on his own, so I better get to work quick too!

Obviously the first thing I gotta do is eat, so I’ll get to the other stuff after that.

Before Fir got to work, he told me to try to use mana light constantly, so we’d be safe if we crossed paths with that super duper fast monster again. It’s a bit of a pain, but I don’t wanna get mauled to death by a giant monster either, so I guess I’ll do it.

I feel like I won’t have to worry too much about that though. It took a looong time until we met that monster, so there can’t be that many of them down here. I think I’d be fine even without the light.

Fir wants us to be safe rather than sorry though, and I don’t have a reason not to. Not like I need the mana. Fir’s the magic guy, not me.

All the magic we have now is suuuuper useless anyway.

We can make a small light, do whatever soul sight is, and then I’m not even sure what the other two do. Really, not worth dealing with.

Why work so hard on magic when I can solve any problem we come across with my fists!

Need shelter? Hit the ground hard and make a big hole.

Need food? Hit a monster really hard until it stops moving.

Getting attacked? Hit the attacker really hard until they run away with their tail tucked between their legs.

It’s the easiest and most obvious solution!

I’ll prove it right now, since it looks like I showed up a little late to the Gaul pod.

We know Mushles are dangerous to attack, since they shoot out those nasty spores whenever their skin gets pierced, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.

Watch and learn!

Around the base of the Gaul pod, Mushles are already crowded in a circle directly under the opening. They don’t know I’m coming, so I have a good advantage.

Cutting them means I lose, so I’ll try my best to ball up my fists to keep the sharp parts of my claws contained.

Now, I’ll jump out from behind the rock I’m using as cover, and run to the Mushles as fast as I can, to keep as much element of surprise as I can.

A few of them notice me, but my arrival is too sudden for them to get ready in time.

I don’t slow myself down before I reach them, instead, I trip myself, launching myself sideways directly into the crowd. My back impacts the group, knocking a ton of them over like bowling pins.

Just like that, most of the things are on the ground, struggling to get up. Mushles can’t easily stand back up once they fall, since their limbs are just little nubs.

Now, there are only two left standing. They obviously stand no chance against me, but they’re still gonna fight to the end, cause these guys have no sense of self preservation at all.

Until every single one is unable to fight, It’s not safe for me to eat.

Luckily, I don’t have to worry about the food getting stolen, since they know they’re not safe to eat until I’m out of the picture too.

So now it’s just a two on one fight, with a time limit of maybe about a minute until the rest of them manage to stand back up.

Let’s not drag this out, they’re way weaker than me. No need to overthink.

The first one runs at me, so I kick one of its pals at it, knocking it off its feet.

Meanwhile, the last one… Ah! That son of a bitch started eating!

Damn it, I didn’t expect them to be that dumb!

Get out of here!

I slap it away, knocking it towards the rest of them.

Ugh, that little jerk… Well, at least it didn’t get to take much. There’s still more than enough food left for me.

If only those things didn’t have those spores. It’d be so much easier to just chop them up and eat them. I wonder how they’d taste…

If only we were immune to those spores…

...Aha?

Maybe we can be?

Back when we first got hit by them, we got the confusion resistance skill. If we make that skill stronger, couldn’t we just power through the spores and chop those suckers up?

But would I grow that skill?

...Heyyyy little guys…

Chomp!

You’re coming with me!

The Mushle struggles in my mouth as I carry it away, but it can’t overpower the grip I have on it.

This little guy’s gonna be my training partner.

I’m gonna tie him up, and expose my self to a liiiiiittle bit of his spores every so often. Eventually, I should be completely immune!

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To tie him up… maybe I could get something from the giant mushrooms?

I set the Mushle down beside me as I approach a giant mushroom.

Don’t go anywhere!

Let’s see… if I peel the outer layer off…

The inside does seem pretty fibrous, this should work.

I cut out a length of fibers from the inside of the mushroom, and clumsily fumble with them.

Damn it… I miss having human hands.

Come oooon… Ah, whatever, this is good enough.

Now, let’s tie you up.

Yep! You’re not going anywhere like that.

The two of us are gonna be spending a loooot of time together for the foreseeable future…

Here we are! Your new home, my little cave. It’s not much, but it’s home! How do you like it?

The Mushle kicks its legs frantically.

I’ll take that as approval! Welcome home!

You’ll absolutely love it here, trust me.

Now, let’s not waste time. I gotta hurry up and level up confusion resistance so I can start eating this things!

Carefully, I make a small cut on the Mushle’s cap, squeezing it a little to push the spores out.

Now I just need to inhale this, and-

The instant the spores enter my body, it feels like the world starts spinning around me. The walls of my den shift, closing in and expanding at the same time.

Oof… This doesn’t feel great…

But if I power through this, I’ll get to start hunting for food again…

Yeah! I just gotta power through this!

H-Huhhgn? Level four… wasn’t it only at level two though?

Ah, how long have I been sitting around for? I can’t remember a thing… what happened?

Urk… My head is killing me. I guess I must’ve passed out from the Mushle spores.

Speaking of…

I look behind me, and I see the Mushle, still struggling against the rope.

Yup, still here. You won’t be able to escape that easily pal!

Well, I think that was enough for now. Next…

Hm, I kinda wanna move. This area’s cool and all, but I’m kinda sick of it.

Mhm, I’ve made my decision! I’m moving out!

And since Fir isn’t around, there’s no one to yell at me for being reckless~

C’mon little guy! We’re heading out!

I grab the Mushle in my mouth, and start walking.

Y’know, maybe I should give you a name?

Fir got mad at me when I named Nea, but this should be fine.

Let’s see…

Mushy? No… too easy.

Shroomly? Nah…

Aha! I got it!

From now on, your name will be Mushthew!

How about it, do you like your new name Mushthew?

Mushthew continues to struggle, as he’s been doing for the entire time I’ve been walking.

I will take that as a yes!

I’ve been walking for a while now, making my way further into the unexplored parts of the cave. This Gaul plant thing really is huge. I can’t believe it’s possible for something to be this big!

I wonder what it looks like on the outside?

Well, we probably won’t ever find out!

This freaky interior is all we’ll ever know.

I kinda wish we could just get out of this thing already. It’s nice to have a food source we’re both fine with, but it could be waaaaay better.

For example…

I eye Mushthew, who is still thrashing around wildly.

Soon enough, soon enough.

For now, maybe I should try finding something else to hunt. If that big cat thing exists down here, there’s gotta be something else too, right?

Believe me, I know my stuff about food chains! And I know that there’s no way in hell those things keep themselves fed with just Mushles.

So, there’s gotta be something else somewhere down here.

Or that cat would’ve died a loooong time ago.

If it’s something that cat hunts, it might not be an easy fight, but it has a chance to be super worth it!

Also, a tough fight’d be fun!

I haven’t been able to have some real fun since the leader of the ants all the way back then. Good times…

Ah, we also can’t level up easily if we don’t find stuff to fight!

That’s good, I’ll use that as an excuse if Fir gets upset at me for fighting something.

Anyway, it’s getting kinda late now, I think. I dunno, I’m just tired.

I think it’s about time I dig a lil place and rest for a while.

There! It’s not as big as the last one, but this is good enough for one night.

Now, Mushthew, come here…

I grab Mushthew, and make another small cut on his cap. Spores pour out into the air, and immediately my sight begins to wobble again.

Thanks buddy!

Now, I’ll lay down, and rest… this out-

Snoooore